On the Way to a Smile
by Rosa Angelicus
Summary: One rainy night, D.C. Cloud Strife met a stubborn runaway that was living on the streets. Little did he know of the impact the kid would leave on him. Some OOC moments, rating may change, eventual CloudLeon. Updated sporadically.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** To be perfectly honest, I don't expect much from this (as it were, its just a one of many small ficlets that I used as a tool to get the creative juices flowing whenever I hit a snag in HUS). But I honestly felt that it was just sitting there twiddling its thumbs being unopened that I thought it was going to serve more use being on , having people reading it.

After all, a story just sitting around being unread is a story not worth writing. Or at least, I'm of the opinion that this is the case.

And trust me, a lot of things -some that are senstively written, some that are sweet, some that is of the KH variety and others that are of the Dissidia variety (ever since I bought the game and consequently got glued to it), and some I'm still finding hard to believe that I was THAT high on sugar that I wrote them- have been written due to mind-beavers building a dam in the River Creative within County Rosa's Brain and me having to demolish it (damn those mind-beavers!)

And you can probably tell that I'm pretty high of sugar right now with that piece of imagery.

Please read, and review if you feel compelled to. I won't write down a "reviews are my..." phrase because my sugar cravings will probably kick in (and my parents will kill me if I start midnight snacking).

* * *

It was kind of like taking a stray home when he thought about it. Something pretty harmless, and something that gave you the satisfaction that you've done something so good that you must be at least another step closer to Heaven when the time came to meet the maker. On the other hand, his logical side (the one that got him his promotion as a Detective Inspector) was yelling at him for being such a risk-taking idiot who was unfit to be a parent if he just took random hobos off the streets to his place.

Because, let's face it, he really was being a risk-taking idiot when he offered to take Leon to his place.

It was back when he was just part of the 'uniform' as a Sergeant. He pretty much had a charmed life really; steady job with a chance of being recommended into the CID despite being so young (twenty-one-years-old in fact), a nice apartment (one double bedroom, a sizeable kitchen and living room, a decent bathroom (compared to their last one) plus the nursery that he and his fiancée decorated with such care and devotion), an adoring fiancée, and one healthy bouncing baby. Not to mention all her 'aunts and uncles'. Yeah; that life could have been described as perfect.

Then the accident happened; he survived. Tifa didn't. That was two months before he met Leon. In those two months, he pretty much threw himself into his work, desperate to not think about the accident…or what Tifa looked like at the morgue when her corpse was pulled out as if she were some file; or just another cold case. Either way, he was a shadow of his former self, even though he tried to act cheerful and optimistic when asked if he was alright, and especially around his eighteen-month-old kid.

Of course, he didn't fool Cid. Or Yuffie. And that was how he found himself dragged to some bar (mercifully not Seventh Heaven; now that would've been unbearable).

"Fer fuck's sake Cloud just liven up!" Cid growled, forcing another beer into the spiky blond's hands. "And drink yer goddamn beer!"

Cloud very carefully pushed the pint glass away. "I'll pass thanks."

Yuffie looked over to him, her usual bubbly personality toned down. "We're worried. I mean ever since…it happened, you've been overworking yourself."

"I'm fine," Cloud reassured her; or at least, he tried to, but he knew Yuffie had some sort of sixth sense when it came to men hiding their feelings. "It's been rough, but I have to keep on living. Tifa wouldn't want me to mope about the apartment all day."

"Well, there's that, and then there's working yourself to the bone," Yuffie pointed out. "I mean, look at those bags under your eyes! You'd think you got punched or something!"

"Wow, do I look that unattractive?" Cloud sarcastically asked. Cid rolled his eyes, gulping down his fourth pint of the night.

"Well, yes!" Yuffie frowned. This elicited one slap to a forehead, and one groan of annoyance.

"Yuffie, d'ya think Cloud cares about how he fucking well looks?!"

"He should! He's not gonna work as well as he used to if he's so tired all the time!"

And thus another argument between the garage owner and his 'niece' erupted. Cloud just shook his head. Well, they said that they were uncle and niece but anyone who knew them would know that Yuffie decided that Cid was going to be her uncle on the basis that they lived close by and Cid got on well with her dad, Godo. This would be funny normally since Yuffie had only just graduated from high school and Cid was nearly two decades older than her; but the fact that she _**was**_ only 18 and thusly shouldn't even really be in a bar that made it unfunny. The inner-policeman in him was itching to confiscate her fake ID.

"I'm leaving," he said quietly, gesturing to the barman and then paying for the two relatively untouched drinks that Cid had forced him to buy. Yuffie and Cid barely noticed, still engrossed with their argument. "Get home safe you guys. And no drink driving Cid." Again, he was ignored. He just rolled his eyes and left, grabbing his trench coat and fastening it tightly. It was gonna rain tonight he heard; good thing he had one of those small umbrella's Tifa had persuaded him to carry around with him on day's where she swore it was going to pour.

The bar in question wasn't really too far away from his apartment so he decided to walk it until he had to use public transport (Cloud didn't see the point in owning a car since Radiant Garden's public transport system was rated highly by tourists and city dwellers alike). Hopefully, he had thought, it wouldn't come to that. He'd rather save that 500 munny.

By the time he walked the second block down to his apartment, he found himself opening his umbrella. It was raining. Very heavily.

It was by the time he reached the middle of block number 5 (a.k.a. Rising Falls Way) that he saw a huddled figure desperately trying to keep himself dry by hiding inside a large cardboard box that had been left on its side, though Cloud knew the poor wretch's attempt was going to be in vain; cardboard sagged when wet. Now he was faced with two options: either he could be a heartless stranger who stayed true to the phrase 'this is none of my business', or he could be a Good Samaritan but risk getting mugged/pick pocketed/assaulted/other criminal damage happen to him.

Cloud, fortunately or unfortunately depending on what the situation was, didn't have a callous bone in his body. He put his umbrella over the place, stopping the rain from further soaking the figure's cardboard lair. "That's not a great shelter for this weather y'know."

The figure's head peeked out to see who was standing outside its home. Shaggy chocolate brown hair, eyes that were the colour of a stormy sky and a scar that, rather than mar his appearance, made him very exotic looking. He must've only been fifteen at the very least. He had a terrible mistrustful frown on his face, though his eyes seemed to hide an underlying gratitude for the extra shield.

"What do you want?" he asked quietly, not coming out of his box. His voice sounded like it was still maturing, though it was huskily soft.

"Nothing," Cloud shrugged. He was pretty surprised at how well spoken the kid was, but his clothes looked like they had seen better days. He recognised the design of the shirt he was wearing; it was from the high street fashion label Wonderland. Yuffie had a period where she would rant and rave about how it was unfair that her dad wouldn't let her have the money to at least buy a decent pair of jeans from them. He had sympathy for Godo though; Wonderland was horrendously expensive considering the market they were aiming for. "You planning on going to a homeless shelter at some point?" He guessed he should at least offer the kid safe passage to one. His friend Aerith seemed to know every charity and shelter worth knowing about; she'd find the kid a good one.

"Thanks but no thanks," the kid snorted. "I feel safer here."

"The box is gonna collapse on you," Cloud pointed out. The boy paused, pursing his lips as he considered it.

"Fair point, but I'm gonna pass on the shelter." He then tried to make himself look pitiful. "But if you could spare some change for food, that would be _**really**_ helpful."

"Nice try kid," Cloud smirked. He knew all the tricks 'hobos' and 'runaways' would use to extort money; his line of work often concerned paying them to relent information, plus, they made good street-ears. The kid's pitiful charade fell immediately.

"Then leave me alone," the kid grumbled, opting to go further into his box. "I'm not-"

A loud gurgle escaped at that point. The kid's face went bright red, clearly embarrassed that his tough guy image had been obliterated by his stomach. Cloud just shook his head. Well, the kid proved that he was more hungry and stubborn than desperate enough to break the law. "Hey, my place ain't too far. You could come over if you want."

"…you're not gonna ask me to have sex with you, right?" the kid bluntly asked. Cloud's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. That was the _**last**_ thing he expected this kid to say.

"Kid, I'm as straight as a pole."

"Oh good." He got out of his box and stood to his full height which amounted to…

Not much. Maybe about five foot and five inches at most. What was clear was that he only barely managed to get higher than Cloud's chin. "Makes a nice change for once," the kid remarked, brushing away the dirt on his dark jeans as best as he could. He then picked up a bag that had been occupying the box with him, throwing it onto his shoulder and waiting patiently for the blond to lead.

Cloud just shook his head before setting off. Well, he was committed now. And if his wallet and the keys to his motorcycle did get stolen by this kid, that was his own fault. At least his conscious would be clear.

* * *

"Nice place," the kid commented when he was let into the apartment, looking around the place as he stepped in.

"Shoes off," Cloud ordered. "This place stays clean."

"Oh come on. My shoes aren't _**that**_ dirty."

Cloud gave him his famous "warning look"; slitting his blue, green-flecked eyes and pursing his lips to a paper-thin line, arms twitching to move across his chest. The kid sighed, coming back to the front door and pushing his shoes off with his feet. Black converses; utterly filthy. "Thank you," Cloud quipped cheerfully, taking his own shoes off and stepping into the hallway. "Anything you want in particular?"

"I'll eat what I'm given," the kid replied, taking cautious steps into the place before procuring a place on the big leather sofa that stood proudly in the centre of the room, in front of a TV. He nestled a bit into it, but he didn't make a sound to suggest he was rather happy with this arrangement. Cloud could only assume that the kid was grateful.

"Let's see…" He poked his head into the fridge; leftovers from the takeout he got last night from Land of Dragons, baby food, some cut up fruit that he was trying to introduce Naminé to, few cold meats, even fewer cheeses (actually, cheddar was the only option), cartons of milk and juice.

He guessed the takeout was the safest option. He grabbed it, found a couple of plates to put the food on, then bunged them into the microwave one at a time. He checked the clock on the wall; nearly nine o'clock. He would have to pick up Naminé from next-door. "I have to go next-door for a moment," he called into the living room. The microwave pinged; the egg-fried rice was ready. He just put it on the table. "There's food on the table. You just go ahead and help yourself."

The brunet didn't really respond, not even moving from his spot on the sofa when Cloud went past him.

He assumed that the kid was probably still a bit mistrustful. After all, it was more normal for humans to ignore their fellow beings when they were down on their luck.

* * *

If there was anyone he swore must have been an angel, it would have to be his next-door neighbour, Aurora. The tall, elegant blonde had offered to care for Naminé when Cloud was struggling the first two weeks after losing Tifa, and since then they had become good friends. Despite this though, Cloud always felt like he was really taking advantage of Aurora's kindness. He wasn't too sure how to thank her though; these things didn't come easily to him.

He picked up Naminé carefully, trying his hardest not to wake up the sleeping baby. "Thanks for taking care of her," he whispered to Aurora. She just smiled, her crystalline blue eyes shimmering quietly.

"It's no problem. I'm just glad I can be of help."

"I feel like I'm stopping you from doing what you want."

"Its fine," Aurora chuckled, petting Naminé's baby soft blonde curls. "Besides, my aunts like to help out too."

"Are you trying to make me feel guilty?" Cloud joked.

"Well, they're all retired so having a baby to take care of is a big event for them."

Cloud smiled a little bit, patting Naminé's back when she made a faint whimper, hushing her quietly. "Thanks again. I'll just get her to bed."

"Sure," Aurora smiled. Cloud turned away, about to head for the front door. "Actually…" He turned back to face her. "I was wondering if you wanted to go out for dinner sometime."

"Ah," Cloud pursed his lips. Now this was something he was damn sure he wasn't ready for. But then again, this could be just a friendly invitation. "I'm not sure. I mean, I've got to find a babysitter for Naminé and-"

"Naminé could come with us," Aurora suggested. "I mean, I know you're busy, but it could be fun."

"I'll think about it." That was his usual get-out clause for these sort of situations. Only last week Cissinei, one of the Inspectors in his force, had asked him out, though to her credit she understood Cloud wasn't ready to socialise with the other sex. He appreciated the thought though.

"Just take it easy, OK Cloud?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

He left.

* * *

The smell of reheated prawn toast and satay chicken attacked his sense of smell when he came back into his apartment. He would have thought that the kid would either be still on the sofa or wolfing down what he had reheated so far. Seeing the kid operating the microwave had been something he never thought would happen.

"I see you've made yourself at home," Cloud smiled with amusement.

The kid jumped, looking over his shoulder with a straight face and a look in his eyes that almost looked like a dangerous glare. It softened when he saw the small person the blond was carrying.

"That's…"

"This is Naminé," Cloud explained. "I'm just going to put her to bed."

"You're her father?" The kid looked like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Why so surprised?"

"But you look so…young…"

"Why thank you for the compliment." Cloud headed over to the nursery, leaving the brunet in the kitchen to watch him in incredulity. He had to admit it that the kid only seemed to have neutral and negative expressions.

Would it have hurt him just to smile? For gratitude?

Then he thought that maybe he wasn't one to ask. Hadn't he been giving false smiles just to assure everyone he was alright, saving the only genuine smile he had for Naminé?

He kissed Namine's small forehead, earning a small grumpy sound at being disturbed. He shook his head, retreating quietly out of the room and back into the living room to his 'guest'. Said guest was sitting at the table, helping himself to food, though he kept one eye on the blond.

"Still think I'm going to take advantage of you?" Cloud asked.

"Not really, considering you have a baby," the kid replied. "But I've known people who'd 'take care' of a little kid regardless."

"You can trust me. Like I said, I'm straight and also, I'd be a bad cop if I did something like that."

"You're a cop too?!"

"Quiet," Cloud hissed. The brunet shrunk a bit, looking a little sheepish while muttering an apology.

"Anything else I should know about you?"

"Hmm, well, you know I'm a cop, I'm a single father, I'm twenty-one and I clearly can't cook since I'm surviving on takeaways. Don't think there's anything else you need to know." Cloud watched the kid's expression as the information sunk in. "Now…how about you? What's your name kid?"

"…it's Leon."

"Leon…" Cloud repeated it, nodding his head lightly. "What were you doing on the streets? You look like a good kid." To be completely honest with himself though, Cloud wondered where he got that scar from. Was he a runaway from an abusive household?

"…I'm gonna pass on the subject." Leon had looked away at that, averting his gaze towards the kitchen.

"Oh?" Cloud raised a brow. "And why's that?"

"It's not like I'm gonna talk to a cop willingly."

"What? You broke the law?" Cloud's eyes narrowed at that. The brunet looked uneasy.

"No. Nothing like that." He then shrugged. "I just don't trust cops. What's wrong with that?"

"Guess there isn't anything wrong with it," Cloud answered. "Were you let down by your local police force?" Leon shrugged, just returning to eating the food in front of him. Cloud noted that, for a hungry kid, he was almost painfully polite when it concerned table manners. It was almost like watching someone act from a script. "You're not gonna talk, are you?" Another shrug. "You're going to have to at some point."

"…whatever."

Cloud rolled his eyes, telling himself that Naminé might be like this in the future so he had to practice. He did pray that his tiny daughter wouldn't turn out to be like this at all.

"You got a place to go?" he asked carefully.

"Other than some cardboard box in the streets, no."

"Hmm…OK, then how long have you been on the streets?"

"Why would you wanna know?"

"I'm curious."

Leon looked at him, his grey-blue eyes considering over whether to divulge in what was clear to the blond was very sensitive information. More than that, Cloud had a feeling that the brunet didn't fully trust him; he came across as someone who didn't want social services getting involved, even if it was the right thing to do. He finally shrugged, turning away again. "Two weeks."

Cloud could only blink at that matter-of-fact statement, and how Leon didn't seem to care. He decided to press further. As gently as possible of course. "You ran away from home?" Another shrug, partnered with a grunt. Cloud took that to be a 'yes'. "Abusive?" Leon didn't respond to that one, just stubbornly looking away. "Your silence suggests that that's the case."

"It's none of your business," Leon growled, glaring at him with one eye.

"That where you got your scar from?" Cloud asked, ignoring Leon's warning. Once again, the kid chose to be silent, glaring at the blond in angered warning. Cloud sighed, guessing that he wasn't going to get any answers from him. He stood up and took the now empty plates away. "You can stay here if you want. I highly advise it though. This isn't the weather to be hanging around in cardboard boxes."

"…the sofa would be nice…"

Cloud nodded his head, coming back into the living-come-dining area once he had placed the plates in the kitchen sink. "I'll get it made up for you. But…" he then put on his most disarming smile that he could muster. "There's a catch."

Leon looked at him, almost as if fearing for the worst. "Don't tell me you…"

"Bath." Cloud pointed in the direction of the bathroom. "My sofa, and the rest of my apartment, stays clean." Call it picking up a habit from his late-fiancée, but he realised the he really did appreciate Tifa's obsessive tendencies about keeping a clean home even though he teased her about it back when she was…alive. He mentally shook away the images from his head, knowing that talking about Tifa was just as sensitive a subject as Leon's running away from his home situation was.

The brunet was still eyeing him suspiciously. "That's the only catch?"

"How many times do I have to reassure you that I'm as straight as straight can be?"

"Just checking." Leon stalked off into the direction Cloud's finger was pointing, from time to time checking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being followed. Cloud had only gone as far as his bedroom door.

"Towels are in there. Just shout if you need something."

"Don't count on it."

Cloud just shook his head as he watched the kid escape into the bathroom, not really expecting Leon to stick around for very long. He had a good speculation that the brunet was going to sleep light and wake early in order to leave with little fuss being made. It was best that he just let him get on with it.

After all, Leon had made it painfully clear that he didn't fully trust him.

* * *

It was a surprise to Cloud when he found Leon rooting around the kitchen cabinets the next morning. Even more surprising was how much Leon was cursing whenever he accidentally made a loud sound.

Good thing Naminé was too young to understand, and even better that she was still fast asleep miraculously.

"Do you need some help?"

"Sh---!" Leon covered his mouth immediately, looking at Cloud as if he had just been caught red-handed stealing from the cookie-jar. Cloud just raised an eyebrow. What had Leon been doing?

"You weren't trying to be sneaky now, were you?"

Leon just gave him a hard look before once again stubbornly looking away. "I was just looking around for food before I go."

"So you're not sticking around then."

"I'm not gonna stay for longer than I should do."

"You can't stay on the streets forever," Cloud pointed out, "especially if you're so unwilling to at least go to a soup kitchen."

"Why are you so worried about me? We only met yesterday. We have nothing to do with each other."

"It's because you're just a kid." Leon seemed to flinch at that. "Maybe it's because I'm a parent, or maybe it's the inner cop that's reacting, but if a kid has a possible chance of getting himself into trouble, naturally I'm going to worry."

"…you won't stop until you know I'm gonna be OK, are you?"

"Sorry Leon," Cloud chuckled. "At least give me some closure."

"Fine. Whatever." Leon glared at him, not in the least bit happy about having to accept help. And from a cop no less. "What do you have in mind?"

"I'm guessing a foster care home is out of the question, as is a youth hostel since I'm sure you've heard horror stories about those…"

"So…?"

"Well, I think I have a place that you can't find fault with."

* * *

It was nearly two months later when Cloud came across Leon again. The last time he saw him, Cloud had managed to convince Leon to go and stay in a children's sanctuary (a.k.a. orphanage) at the Saint Firion's Convent. Aerith did a lot of community work there for the Sisters that ran the sanctuary, so naturally she managed to get Leon a place to stay there. Cloud had dropped him off; he almost smiled at how Leon warmed up to Mother Edea Krammer with near-immediacy.

Yes, he had thought to himself, Leon can trust the people here. They won't hurt him. They won't do anything he's scared of to him.

And so two months passed, and Cloud nearly all but forgot about him, having penned him down as just another kid that needed help. Naminé became twenty months-old; he did go for that dinner with Aurora (happily, they didn't get involved, but became firmer friends), and he got promoted after all his hard work in the uniform to the Criminal Investigations Department as a Trainee Detective Constable. But still, he felt like his smile was never really genuine even though his dream was being realised.

Regardless though, he soldiered on. And it was that second month that their paths once more crossed.

Cloud had been waiting around with a select group of the higher ups and DCs, waiting around for the information on the next case. One of his mentors though, Jack Sparrow, was having his morning tipple before his partner, Will Turner, came in.

"You know, that isn't exactly what I call being a good role model Jack," Cloud droned.

"I run on rum. I neeeeeeed rum," Jack drawled, stroking one the braids dangling from his chin. Jack was not one of your usual Detective Constables…no, he was an eccentric with his wild braided hair, dark eyes and slouchy appearance. There was something rather debonair about him though, which meant he was a huge hit with the ladies.

A hand shot out and grabbed Jack's hipflask before he could get anymore rum out of it. "You're going to damage your liver if you continue like that," Will sighed, looking like he was on the verge of a migraine. Most likely caused by Jack.

"Rummmm!" Jack moaned, helplessly flailing to try and get it back. Will just lifted it higher.

"No rum," he said firmly, then nodded to Cloud. "Sorry for being late. He wasn't embarrassing himself was he?"

"Nah. You got here in time before he got worse."

"Oh good." That was when the Deputy Superintendent, Barret Wallace, came in.

"Alright everyone, settle down. We got ourselves a few cases to worry about." He started putting up pictures on the glass board. "Two murders, one rape and…ah, one crime that has a count of burglary, assault and kidnapping. Whoever's with the newbie is getting this one."

"If there's a count of kidnapping, shouldn't you give that to Missing Persons Department?" Will questioned. He was the type that wanted things done correctly. Jack called him a perfectionist.

"If only it were that simple, but we were requested specifically by the victims to take control of the kidnappings too." He put up one last picture…and Cloud nearly choked on the coffee he was sipping.

It was Leon. Barret then wrote a word in big capital letters over him and two other boys: "KIDNAPPED". A heavy lump sunk into Cloud's stomach as he looked at the rest of the pictures. Jack appeared to have noticed.

"What's up? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"If only," Cloud muttered.

* * *

"Here you are," the tall dark woman smiled, putting down a cup full of tea before taking a seat across from the blond with her own.

"Thanks," Cloud responded, taking a small sip. He never really liked tea. But he could stomach it. He looked over to the woman; Mother Edea had a large bandage on her forehead that was just visible under her nun's headdress. She had been one of the lucky ones; one of her Sisters was currently in hospital recovering from head injuries. "Do you think you could tell me…what happened?" he asked gently.

She nodded quietly. For the long pause between spoken words, Cloud could here children playing outside in the courtyard, but he knew they weren't blissfully ignorant. Three of their number was gone. "It all happened so fast. It had only been two hours since we put the children to bed, and we were in the middle of evening prayers. Then these men came bursting in waving about guns and telling us to stay where we were." She paused again to take a long calming drink of her tea. "Of course, Sister Rikku wasn't having any of it so she immediately confronted them. Poor, stupid girl. She gets whacked across the head by one of the candle sticks they stole."

Cloud put a comforting hand over Mother Edea's, silently encouraging her to continue. She nodded her head, pursing her lips as she forced herself to remember the events that happened that night. "Leon must have heard what was going on. So must have Tidus and Riku. They came down wielding whatever they could get their hands on and start screaming at them. I…I really thought those men were going to shoot them."

"Keep going," Cloud whispered. He needed to know…how they were kidnapped.

"They didn't take them seriously…so the children were disarmed so quickly. They knocked out Tidus and then started dragging them all off. They said that they would kill the children if we moved."

Cloud nodded his head. Now to find out some small details. "Can you tell me how many men were there?"

"About five. I couldn't see any of their faces."

"Anything characteristic about them? Limps? Any sign of hair colour? Anything?"

"They were all wearing hoods…but, I did see something of a lock of hair…"

"Colour?"

"Pink."

"Pink?"

"Yes. Pink as a rose. I'm guessing that that man was very young."

"Alright," Cloud nodded, finishing off his tea. "If there's anything else you can remember, contact the station."

"Detective," Edea started, "please don't feel guilty about what happened to Leon." Cloud paused from standing, wondering how she had figured out how he was feeling. "No one could have seen this happening."

"Still doesn't mean I have the right not to feel responsible for this." He slid his jacket onto his shoulders, sighing quietly as he made to leave. "I let him down. Now I've got to find him to make amends."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Could say that this has been complete for some time, but I wanted to see if I could finish up the next chapter of HUS first (unfortunately, its taking a lot longer than expected due to essays and other uni stuff). Hope you guys like this until Chapter 49 of HUS finally gets uploaded (I'm hoping to finish it before Xmas at the very least). Please enjoy reading and review :)

* * *

Obsession was something that didn't come over Cloud, but he was making an exception for this case. His desk was completely littered with testaments that he had written from people that were hanging around the convent that night (neighbours, the sisters, some homeless people that were making their way there in hope that they would get a place to sleep for the night without fearing for their lives), pictures of the scene and a crudely drawn map of the events that happened pinned to the cork board on the wall.

It seemed like a simple enough case of organized crime. But something wasn't adding up.

They could have just killed the kids. Why did they go to the trouble of kidnapping them?

He nearly jumped out of his skin as a mug of steaming black coffee was put in front of him. "Your babysitter knows you're working late?" Will asked.

"She knows," Cloud confirmed, taking a small sip of his drink. "And I still don't know why these 'babysitters' are keeping these kids longer than they ought to?"

Will frowned, stroking his beard lightly. "I hope you don't mind me asking," he started slowly, "but you aren't involved personally in this case are you?"

"I know one of the kids," Cloud answered, picking up Leon's photo. "I put this kid in there."

"So you feel that it's your fault?"

"Yeah."

"Don't. You've probably heard this from the Mother but you really couldn't have seen this happening."

"Still doesn't make me feel any better about myself." He put his head in his hands, sinking into the despair that he felt. "These past couple of days I've been asking myself why I just didn't offer him to stay at mine until he felt like he could trust social services again."

"Social services?" Will quipped, sounding like he just had an idea. Cloud quickly caught on to.

"You don't think…"

"If we know a full name, we can at least find out what's going on with this kid." Will put the picture down. "He's the only story we don't know about. Grab your coat. We're gonna call in a favour."

* * *

'Squall Leonhart.' Cloud had to hand it to Mother Edea that she had a way of getting information out of stubborn –yet scared– children. He just wished that she wasn't bound to a vow of secrecy to Leon that she wouldn't go to the authorities about him. Fortunately, they weren't.

He stood up when Will and Elizabeth Swann, a friend of Will's, came back, a file clutched close to her chest.

"That what we're looking for?" Cloud asked.

"It's quite the read," Elizabeth replied, handing it to him. "Would you like me to give you the main outline of this file?"

"A general idea of what I'm dealing with would be a good idea."

"Squall Leonhart. Real parents Raine Leonhart and Laguna Loire, and one possible cousin from a sororal relative on the maternal side. Mother deceased via illness, father disappeared two months before Squall was born." She watched with her dark cocoa-coloured eyes Cloud flicking through the file, his bright blue ones skimming over the information. "He was in foster care until he was seven, and then we found him a home to stay in with a couple that we'll call the Smiths." Cloud looked at her, blinking in confusion. "Protection," she explained. "I can't give names into this investigation unless they have a link to it."

"OK…" he wasn't convinced, "tell me what happened there then."

"Well, foster mom died in an accident linked to arson, foster dad took up drinking, as a result we've figured out that Squall was getting abused from outside sources and from a call from an anonymous caller that reported that he was missing. However, nothing's confirmed. Everything about possible abuse is just speculation."

Cloud shook his head, piece of the puzzle finally slotting into place. So that was why he changed his name to 'Leon'. So that he wouldn't be found. "He was just a scared kid that didn't want to be found."

"And now he's gotten himself into trouble," Will finally spoke. He nodded to Elizabeth. "Thank you. I owe you one."

"Let's just call it a dinner date when we both have time," she smiled. "I trust you'll return that file to reception once you're done with it?"

"Will do," Will assured. Cloud was far too engrossed in what he was reading. "See you later." He dragged the blond along with him, knowing that Cloud would stand there all night just reading into this.

* * *

The sound of a crying baby the next morning had jerked Cloud out of a restless sleep on the couch, papers from Leon's file strewn across the coffee table and on him. Fully awake, he rushed over to Naminé's room and plucked her out of her crib, bouncing her lightly in his arms as he made shushing noises to try and calm her down.

There were days when he was glad he had found the best alarm clock you could get in his baby daughter. This was one of those times, when every waking moment counted.

"Shhh shhh," he cooed, patting the tiny baby's back gently with his fingers. "Good baby, good baby."

He almost got her back to napping when his cell phone went off, spurring on another burst of unhappy gurgling. Quietening her as best as he could with one arm, he answered the phone.

If it was just the default ring tone, he would have hung up; it was his emergency ring tone disturbing the peace, which was an entirely different matter.

"Strife here."

"Think you can hire your babysitter for a couple of extra hours?" Jack's voice asked. He sounded sober for once.

"Huh? Have you found a lead?"

"Ever heard of the Ace of Spades?"

"Isn't that that seedy backstreet casino downtown?"

"Yup. I'm an old acquaintance of the owner. He told me that he might have some mighty fine leads for us."

"We're going down there, aren't we?"

"Correction: only you and I are going down there. Will refuses to mingle with 'lowlifes'."

"You're going to do something contradictory to your job, aren't you?"

"How do you know me so well Cloud?"

* * *

The Ace of Spades was just as how Cloud imagined it. Dark, musty, smoky, stank of alcohol and had the sense of danger and risk about it. This was not a place Cloud ever hoped to come across, though he knew that would be asking too much when he decided to join the CID. Jack, for some reason or other that he never divulged on, was in his element.

"Keep a sharp eye," Jack murmured to him. "This is the kind of place where you could get pick-pocketed without realising it." Cloud immediately put his hands in his trouser-suit pockets, protecting his wallet and his cell phone.

Ignoring all the shrieking groups of people gambling over shoddy tables, Jack guided the way to the back, knocking on a solid faux-wood door, followed by a good hard kick. "Oi, Luxord! You said you wanted to talk!"

The door opened, revealing a tall, smartly dressed blond man with more piercings in his ears than Cloud cared to count. He had a beard, something that Cloud was a bit envious about. His genetic material seemed to be missing the key ingredients for growing facial hair, which meant that he was a perpetual babyface all throughout his education. With sparkling blue eyes glistening with wry mirth, the man allowed them into the room. Cloud assumed this was his office. "I'll spare you all the pleasantries. I'm already gambling my life by talking."

They sat down, Luxord on one side of his desk, Cloud and Jack on the other. The bearded blond unscrewed the cap of a rum bottle, pouring generous amounts into antique crystal tumblers. "Rum?" he offered.

"A man after my own heart," Jack grinned, helping himself to one. Cloud shook his head.

"I'm driving."

"Ah, yes," Luxord nodded, seemingly sympathetic to Cloud's plight, but the T.D.C. knew that it was just a ploy. You couldn't trust a criminal or a gambler as far as you could throw them. "Anyway, I heard of that dreadful case you boys are investigating. Terrible plot. Those poor boys. Those poor ladies." He took a deep swig of his rum. "Makes a gent's skin crawl just thinking about it."

"Cut to the chase," Jack smiled. Cloud knew that Jack's pleasantness was always behind the most threatening of sentences. It was one of his eccentricities. "You know something that we don't."

"I do happen to know something that you don't know." Luxord smiled rather crookedly. "Ever heard of the Rose Garden?"

"That big-wig's club?" Jack drawled, the hand holding the tumbler waving around as if it were drunken. "I've heard of it. Supposedly crooked, but no evidence to back it up."

"What if I told you that I had a monster of a piece of evidence that could bag you the owner of that joint?"

"I'm listening."

"Rumour is that only a certain "special" members are allowed into the club's VIP section. And that is where all the criminal activity is, including a little auction they've been holding from time to time recently."

"Auction?" Cloud asked, his curiosity piqued. "What's that got to do with our case?"

"The Rose Garden auctions of a variety of goods," Luxord responded casually, taking another swig of his drink. "Often, its young girls but they have young boys thrown in there too."

"What?!" Cloud stood up at that point, banging his hands against the desk. Jack didn't stir, considering this small yet important piece of information. "You mean to tell me that you knew that there was human trafficking going on?!"

"Precisely," Luxord simpered, leaning back into his chair. "Given that I've only heard this a few weeks back from one of our regulars that works there, I didn't see much profit in speaking until now."

"Profit?!"

"The Rose Garden is one of the largest gambling spots in the city," Jack informed, looking very relaxed as usual. "Naturally, its Luxord's biggest competitor. We flush them out, Luxord's business sky-rockets."

"But-"

"Cloud, sit down," Jack said calmly. "This isn't any different from using the homeless as our eyes and ears on the street."

Cloud sat down, positively fuming. Where was the justice in all this?! It was little wonder that Leon had such little trust in the police force.

"It's all very well telling us this," Jack remarked, "but we can't arrest them unless we get a guy on the inside to gather the evidence for us."

"I'm sure you'll think of something. After all, you're an ex-crook yourself."

Jack seemed to frown at that…but then it uncurled into a devilish smile. "Luxord, is Axel still operating?"

"Well, he's settled down for the moment. Newest flame's cracked the whip on him I've heard." Luxord couldn't help but snigger. "But I'm sure if you can convince _him_ that it's all for a good cause, he'll let Axel off his leash."

* * *

"Can I ask something?" Cloud inquired as they sat in Jack's beaten up old car. They were stuck in a red light.

"Ask away," Jack drawled in a devil-may-care fashion.

"What did Luxord mean when he said you're an ex-crook?"

"Ah." The eccentric dark-haired man seemed to pause thoughtfully, as if carefully picking out his words. For all his debonairness, Jack did possess a hidden intellect that he had kept carefully hidden from everyone until it was called upon. He then gave side-ways smile, looking very relaxed. "Because I'm a reformed crook. To be honest, the worst I ever did was fraud."

"Fraud?"

"Yeah. I cheated a few people out of money. Or I owed them a lot." The light turned green. The car lurched forward. "I was desperate though. I owe Will's dad a lot. He got me out of there while I still could."

"Will's dad? You mean Will Turner Sr?"

"I called him Bootstrap."

"Bootstrap?"

"Boots were always untied. That's how the nickname came about." He shrugged. "Like I said, I owe a lot to him. That's why I stick around with Will. Make sure he doesn't get caught up in these sorts of dealings."

"You're protective."

"Nah. I'm just fulfilling a promise."

Cloud nodded his head. He had heard about Will's famous father, and how he got gunned down during a dangerous job concerning a drug lord. Will had even confided in Cloud about how he wanted to be just like his father, if not even better.

He could see his superior being able to achieve that goal. "What about you Cloud? What's your motivation for this job?"

"...It's a little complicated."

"Naminé?" Jack wondered. "I can understand if protecting her is your biggest motivation."

"It's partially that," Cloud whispered, looking out of the window. "It's also protecting people who are vulnerable, like those kids."

"Like Leon?" Cloud flinched. Jack chuckled. "I might be drunk half the time, but I'm not that much of a fool. I keep up with these things." He then looked over. "Somehow I get a feeling that responsibility isn't the only reason you're obsessing over this case. Seeing a little bit of yourself in the kid?" Cloud was silent for a long while.

"It's not like that..."

"What was your family background like then?"

"I didn't know my dad. It was just me and my mom for a long time."

"She still around?"

"Died of cancer."

"Ah. Sorry."

"It's fine. She got to see Naminé and seeing me happy. I think for her, that was enough." He paused, before whispering, "Or at least, I hope that was enough."

They slipped into a silence that was seemingly comfortable, though Cloud felt a little insecure at the thought. He wasn't sure if he liked how this case was forcing him to look at himself and putting his faith in the justice system into question.

He wasn't entirely sure that he was comfortable with the fact that he was more worried about some kid he only knew for a grand total of maybe a couple of days and would have all but forgotten about him, than any of the other victims (which, from Luxord's testimony, sounded like that there were many).

"...Who's Axel?" Cloud asked, hoping to change the subject. Jack seemed to have gotten the hint; he didn't ask more into Cloud's personal business.

"He's a kid that I used to work with from time to time. Best pickpocket you could ask for, and could cause the largest and most explosive distractions if you asked him nicely."

"And he's still operating?"

"Sounds like it. Though we may have a monster to tame before we can get to Axel."

"Monster huh..."

* * *

The place known as District Zero was probably the worst part of Radiant Garden. Long ago, in a time where there was a lot of inequality, this was the ghetto that homed immigrants and foreign bodies that made their way to the bright lights of the city. Now it was home to the lowest of the low, from the prostitute and pimp to the drug dealer and drug addict. It was a lawless place, and even though the local police patrolled as expected, there were rumours that they were just as crooked as the people they were protecting.

Needless to say, Cloud didn't like this place at all. Jack seemed indifferent as they climbed up the stairs to a block of flats in the confident knowledge that this was where his old friend lived.

"Ah, Cloud," Jack started, stopping at the top of stairs. "You aren't homophobic by any chance, are you?" Even though it was mentioned in passing that Axel's new flame was a boy, it was never really discussed upon.

"What?" Cloud blinked, the question having caught him by surprise. Well he knew that he wasn't. "I'm not."

"Oh good. Because Axel's taste in humans tend to be men younger than him."

They remained silent as they climbed up the stairs inside the building, the blond wondering the entire time what to expect when they finally came face-to-face with this infamous pickpocket. His answer, however, was soon answered.

The dirty white wooden door had an outline of an apartment number that had once announced which room it was a long time ago upon it, while the door knob looked like it had seen far better days, black tarnish coating the brass in an inky wispy cloak. It was the sounds coming from behind that was making Cloud cringe. Jack, unfazed as ever, banged on the door with five rapid knocks made by his fist.

The sounds stopped, someone cursed, something was quickly moved away. And then finally the door opened, revealing a petit blond with messy hair. He was only wearing a shirt that was far too big for him, but long enough to cover him modestly. He had the angriest little frown that was more of a childlike pout, and the brightest blue eyes that were glaring daggers at them. "Can I help you?" he asked shortly.

Jack whipped out his badge. "D.C. Jack Sparrow. Is Axel in?"

The blond seemed to jump back at that. "He's not in."

"I'm not stupid kid," Jack drawled. "Besides, shouldn't you be asleep? After all, it's a school night."

"I don't do school," the blond retorted. "And Axel isn't here."

"Axel, get your skinny ass out here!" Jack yelled into apartment.

"He's not in!" the blond protested. Jack shoved him out of the way, marching into the room like a man on a mission. Cloud followed quickly. "Hey!" And that was when the taller blond grabbed the kid, not wanting the situation to escalate.

"Axel, I know you're in here. Get out of here and I'll forget the fact that your little bulldog's underage."

The second man finally came out of his hiding spot in the other room. He was a tall, lanky creature that looked almost skeletal but was well toned and muscled, clearly a runner. His body however was also decorated with numerous amount of tattoos, most prominent being a pair of flaming chakrams on his right upper arm and the Roman numerals 8 and 13 printed above where his heart was. Other tattoos were two "cuffs" of flames on his wrists, and a strange marking that looked like an upside down heart with a crucifix-like point just above his belly-button. His face was sharp and angular, his eyes cat-like and bright emerald green with two tear-drop tattoos, one under each eye. A shock of spiky red hair accentuated the bizarreness of this man.

He made Cloud's feelings of unease only increase.

"Glad that you're going to cooperate," Jack smiled, nodding to Cloud as a signal for him to let go of the small blond. He did; the blond escaped and immediately rushed to Axel's side, holding his arm tightly.

"I'm not in trouble with the law am I?" Axel asked. He seemed cautious.

"I've got a proposition." Jack sat on the sofa, relaxing easily. Axel seemed to calm down at this, a small mischievous smirk gracing his features. "How would you like to make a bit of money?"

"I'd like that." The blond looked at Axel with a perturbed look. "Roxas, you go into the bedroom."

"I'm not leaving," the now named blond stated firmly. The redhead just shrugged, sitting down on the other side of the sofa, looking at Jack.

"What's the job?"

"I need you to "borrow" something for us."

"Borrow huh?"

"Mmhm. We'll find the target, you grab his wallet, you get your cash."

"Sounds too easy. What's the catch?"

"No catch. Might be difficult though. You'll be operating in the business district."

"That ain't my style," Axel pointed out, reaching over for a cigarette box that was lying on the coffee table. Cloud curled his nose slightly when he saw a small white stick being drawn out. It further curled when Roxas grabbed the silver lighter and lit it up for his older lover. Axel seemed to have noticed, looking very amused at the older blond's expression. "What? You gonna charge me with smoking?"

"Do we have a deal?" Jack interrupted, cutting Cloud's chance to reply with some acerbic remark.

"You know that only an idiot would do something like this."

"Then it's a very good thing that I'm not one," Jack replied. "Are you in?"

Axel shrugged, taking a slow drag before responding: "I'm in."

* * *

Green eyes surveyed the scene with meticulous consideration, searching for a face that he had been shown only hours ago. Short, chubby man in about his fifties, dressed in a power suit, grey hair and a pair of thick spectacles that covered pig-like eyes; his target that had yet to show up.

The suit he was wearing was borrowed. His hair had been tied back into a severe ponytail, something he wasn't used to at all. His tattoos were covered up with make-up so that he didn't stand out from the crowd too much. In other words, if anyone from his social circles could see him now, they wouldn't even recognise him had it not been for the vibrant red hair. Even his lover looked at him in bewilderment when he first stepped out in this get-up.

That's when he saw him. Just as the description said; short, chubby, late fifties, power suit, grey hair and thick glasses. Perfect. He closed in, taking care not to bump into anyone on the way. He only needed to make one, well timed and executed nudge into his target to get his wallet.

First, he needed to know where it was. His eyes caught sight of a hand going into a pocket. Target locked. Now to go in for the kill.

A short collision as he ran into the man was all that was needed. "Whoops!" he exclaimed. "So sorry!" He disappeared, running for a meeting that would never happen in one of these tall skyscrapers he had found himself in. Now his eyes searched for the accomplice. He spotted the tall blond leaning against a car, idly looking through his mobile phone.

He passed, very deftly pushing a wallet into the blond's hand. The blond put it away, hiding in his pocket before getting into the car and driving away. The pickpocket started making tracks out of the business sector and back to the pub where his employer was waiting with his pay.

His job was done. The police could now handle the rest.

* * *

It felt like the rest of the investigation had gone past in a whirlwind of a week. Using the information gathered from "evidence" found linked to the prime suspect, and putting their resources with those of the MPD, they had hatched a plan to get a man on the inside. They even had the Fraud Department create a false VIP Card using their own resources of reformed conmen and fraudsters.

And that was why he was here, in a suit that he could only dream of affording and with his usually dishevelled blond hair carefully styled into soft spikes. Will next to him had got his hair cut into a more fashionable hairstyle, looking like the perfect gentleman caller.

Cloud just felt...out of place in this club. It was all high class men who were talking about stocks and shares and other boring business. The fact that this was a place where a large human trafficking ring was based made it all the more surreal.

_-All these men who claim to be such respectable upstanding members of society and they really are just as low as any scumbag who breaks the law_, Cloud had thought bitterly. It just made his blood boil thinking about it. He jumped when he heard his mobile phone ring.

"James speaking," Cloud answered the phone, using the name he was delegated to.

"_Group of us are surrounding the entrances as we speak. You and Turner need to get the rock hard evidence needed to put these guys out of business," _Barret's gravel-like voice informed. _"Soon as you've got it, pull out and let the special forces do the rest."_

"But what about those goods we talked about?" 'Goods' in this case meaning all those that had been kidnapped.

"_Leave that to the professionals. Don't go running after them. I mean it Strife." _Cloud grimaced at that warning tone in the chief's voice. The trouble was that Cloud knew that as soon as he saw Leon, or even got an inkling of knowing where he was, he was going to go to the kid and drag him out.

He stopped his thoughts right there. _–Why am I getting so worked up over a punkass kid that I had to almost physically drag to that sanctuary?!_

Because deep down, some small voice in his head whispered, he did see a little bit of himself in Leon. Maybe they didn't have the exact same background, but they both didn't know who their parents were (or in Cloud's case, didn't know who his father was), and they both were just doing what they could to survive, but they just did it in different ways.

More than anything, Leon came across as someone who needed the protection, whether he wanted to accept it or not.

"Alright. We'll leave it to them. Just...just make sure the goods get safely delivered in one piece."

"_We'll try our best Strife. You just get out when you and Turner have done your bit."_ They hung up simultaneously, though Cloud had been slower than his superior. His face was grim.

He had a bad feeling about this. A painfully bad feeling about this.

* * *

It felt like forever when the VIP members were called into the suite at long last, which was really a large auditorium-like room with comfortable seating arrangements and tables. Will and Cloud sat at a table for two at the back, Will subtly positioning the camera piece that was hidden inside the small pin that was shaped into a red rose. There was a large white canvas that obviously was meant for projections. Cloud could only imagine what the horrors would be like.

That was when a young man with the most unusual hair colour came up onto the podium right at the front of the room, smirking in a supercilious manner. He was tall and lean, clearly a very attractive worker in the Rose Garden (or possibly, Cloud had thought, the owner himself), wearing a crisp white dress suit that flawlessly complemented his milky complexion. It was the hair colour that had caught Cloud's attention.

It was pink. Pink as a rose. Just as Mother Edea had described it. He turned to Will, and they shared a knowing glance. It was only a small thing to go by, but it was enough to raise their suspicions.

"Good evening gentlemen," the man began; his voice drawled like a string of chewed taffy. "Welcome to the Rose Garden's third official auction." He then smiled absently. "I see that we have many a familiar face among us." This was greeted by small chortles; all of them were familiar faces. Getting a VIP membership wasn't an easy task after all. "We will first show you the goods on show tonight, and then once our presentation is complete, we shall begin the auction. Please remember that this is all friendly, good, clean fun. There will be no hard feelings amongst you all."

This in itself though, held a severe warning. This man clearly was one to fear. Cloud was no longer paying attention to him talking though, more interested in gathering the evidence that was about to come en masse.

Sure enough, it began. The first few pictures were of young girls that only looked to be within the ages of fourteen to eighteen, scantily clothed (or in some cases not clothed at all) and looking thin, gaunt but attractive enough to garner interest from all these... 'clients'. Will's camera, hidden behind its floral disguise, recorded it the entire time. Barret, Jack and everyone else on the squad would be watching this, those from the Missing Persons Dept that had volunteered to come along identifying those that had been reported as missing.

Cloud's sole concern was if Leon, or those other two boys from Saint Firion's, was here.

He damn near jumped out of his seat when he saw he saw pictures of the boys in question, enraged that they seemed to have been degraded in status by the compromising positions they had been forced into. Will had given him a pointed look and a quick stamp on his foot to stop him. Cloud forced himself to stay, though his hands curled up into tight iron-like fists when he saw an image of a clearly drugged Leon being forced to show his entire anatomy.

The show finally ended after what seemed like hours to Cloud. The pink-haired one was still looking as smug as when he first stepped on the stage, not a shred of remorse in his body as he moved comfortably on the raised platform as if he were some actor about to deliver his opening lines. "I hope you all enjoyed our presentation. The auction will begin in ten minutes." And just as languidly as he had walked back onto the podium, he waltzed right back off, going over to where a man with long silvery hair was. Cloud recognised the face immediately.

Sephiroth Jenova. A high class businessman with connections to the criminal world, the police had actively tried to find ways of arresting the man, but no evidence was concrete enough to charge him. Thusly, Sephiroth became somewhat of an underworld celebrity.

As luck would have it, Sephiroth was the owner of the Rose Garden, though sources revealed that he never spent that much time dealing with it, leaving it to the managers to run all its operations. Including, Cloud concluded in his mind, this human trafficking stint. He looked over to Will; his face betrayed that he too had come to this conclusion. This was what Luxord meant when he said the evidence was solid enough to take out the owner. The phone rang. Cloud picked it up. "Speaking..."

"_We've got enough video evidence now to justify a raid. You two get your asses out of there right now," _Barret ordered. Cloud hesitated over that. Will looked at Cloud with a perplexed look, wanting to know what was going on. _"Strife, don't you dare disobey the order."_

"I can't leave. The car I asked for won't pick me up until midnight."

"_What the **FUCK** Strife?! Listen, I know you're worried but your safety is my primary concern!"_

"I'll get back to you as soon as I know what's up," Cloud smoothly lied, knowing that he was going to have hell to pay for disobeying a direct command.

"_Hey! Stri-!"_ Cloud hung up on him, standing up.

"Where are you going?" Will asked, furrowing his brows into a worried expression.

"I'm gonna get a drink. Be back in ten."

"Eh? Wait a second!"

Cloud just headed off, making his route towards the bar, but in reality he had been having his eye on the door that proclaimed 'Staff Only'. It seemed obvious to Cloud that if they were hiding 'goods', somewhere away from the public eye would make the most sense. And this fit the bill just nicely.

With all the stealth of a cat prowling about in the allies, Cloud managed to sneak in without anyone noticing. He was on his own now; if he was caught, he could bluff his way out and say that he got lost, but if the 'staff' proved to be less than friendly, he was quite royally screwed.

At least, he told himself, he knew how to handle himself in a fist fight.

Walking down the shadowy corridors, Cloud only now started wondering what the consequences would be if he managed to get out of this alive. Well for one, he'd probably get his ass handed to him by Will and Jack. Then it would be fried by Barret, followed by him probably having to turn in his badge. He did disobey a direct order from Barret after all, and disobeying the Chief was never a good strategy unless you wanted to get fired. But there was no turning back now, and he was so close to finding Leon again. He checked his watch quickly to see how much time he had until they started the auction. Five and a half minutes and counting.

Did he really have a plan of how to get out of here once he did find Leon? Well now that he had a chance to calm down and think about it, he really didn't have a plan at all.

The word "shit" sprang to mind if he felt the need to voice his thoughts on this 'small' predicament.

He heard a clatter and the selfsame thought he had being shouted out by some uncouth thug. He managed to take shelter behind some wine crates that had been piled up in a tall towering frame. Shadows danced on the floor in the dully lit corridor, their owners discussing rapidly.

"That little shit bit me!"

"Hey hey hey, calm down! That kid's got one of the highest prices on his head!"

"He can't be worth that much! The kid's got a freaking huge scar on his face!"

"Apparently they're a few clients who are into that gay S&M shit, so having a scar like that must have some sort of...well, you know, some sort of turn-on effect."

"Dude, they seriously need to get their head checked into..."

"Hey, as long as we get paid, I don't care what sort of kinks the clients got." A sound of one of them hauling up something heavy, followed by an anguish groan. "Come on. This kid's difficult enough when the drug's taking effect. I don't want to see what he's like once the drug's worn off."

Cloud took that chance to look around the corner. What he saw almost made him jump out of hiding and go charging right at them.

Over a tall bald man's shoulder, Leon was lying limply, as if he were in a deep sleep. Cloud strained to stay still, wanting so desperately to reach out and save him, but knowing that by doing that he put the whole operation at risk.

He hated feeling this powerless. But he knew...he had to go back now...

At least he knew that Leon was here. And yet...knowing that wasn't enough. Carefully, he crept out of his hiding spot and continued, checking his watch for just a millisecond. Two more minutes. If he could just tail those two thugs just to where they kept the kids, he could probably keep the place locked up somehow and stop those kids from getting auctioned off like pieces of furniture.

Risky, but it was the only plan he had right now that didn't involve going back. With all the light-footedness of an alley cat, he stalked the two thugs, though they didn't walk far. When they entered the room, Cloud hid around behind more crates that were lying around (undoubtedly filled with some less than savoury stuff at worst; alcohol at best). Moments later they left, and once they were gone, Cloud took the chance. What he saw in there, nothing could have prepared him.

The missing kids were all in there; girls and boys that were as young as eleven. Girls wore the thinnest dingy clothes that seemed to have been made out of dinner tablecloths, while the boys were just barely covered with whatever they could find to preserve their modesty. They looked at Cloud fearfully, huddling against the walls in hope of making themselves unnoticeable. In the dim light, Cloud could just about make out the angry red marks on some of the kids' wrists.

One of the older boys stood up. Cloud recognised him as the silver-haired boy from St. Firion's. "It's alright," he whispered to them, fishing into his pocket and flipping out the badge he had concealed inside his wallet. "I'm gonna need your help though."

The boy –clearly the leader of this rabble to Cloud– seemed to consider him for a moment before nodding his head. Some of the older children stood up now. Cloud nodded back.

"Alright, first things first, we need to barricade ourselves in so that we don't get rushed in. If I can have a group of you to help me out with that. The rest of you take care of the younger ones and the ones that have been injured."

Immediately, the kids followed his orders, the silver-haired one leading a group of five (the tanned blond boy that looked to be the youngest from the St. Firion's group, two tall girls that looked to be nearly fifteen and a boy that must have only just turned fourteen), while a petite girl with silvery blonde hair lead the team that herded the youngest of the kidnapped children to the back and cared for those who were injured –fortunately, injuries only consisted of one or two broken fingers at worst, cuts and bruises being the major concern. Leon's limp form was put against the wall while another boy and girl tried to wake him up. Cloud led the group of five to the crates, getting them to carry the few of the lighter boxes into the room while he lifted the heaviest in, creating a barricade when Cloud felt that there was enough that could serve good use, though he was ever grateful that Hyne was feeling merciful and was allowing a delay in the Rose Garden's schedule.

It was just in the nick of time too because he heard his cell phone go off when he placed the last piece of the barricade. He picked up. "Strife."

"_Where the hell are you?!_" Will's voiced hissed down the line.

"I'm with the kids. I've managed to get ourselves barricaded in. It might last us fifteen minutes if we're lucky, maybe more if we're supremely lucky, but if the SWAT team wants to get involved, now is a good time."

"_You have got to be kidding me..._"

"I kid you not. Don't worry about me. Just get those guys in the slammer so that the kids can get home."

"_Alright_," Will sighed. "_I'll give the signal. Just...be careful. You haven't got anything to defend yourself with._"

"I've got my fists and my brain," Cloud replied, remembering the words that Tifa had said to him when he fretted about her working late at Seventh Heaven. "That's all I'm going to need." _Though_, he had thought, _a gun wouldn't hurt either..._ He hung up. Now all they could do was wait and hope the stakeout wouldn't be a flop.


End file.
